ollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes

instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical

systems or living organisms.[1] Pollution can take the form of chemical
substances or energy, such as noise, heat, or light. Pollutants, the elements
of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies, or naturally occurring;
when naturally occurring, they are considered contaminants when they
exceed natural levels. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint
source pollution. The Blacksmith Institute issues annually a list of the world's
worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues the ten top nominees are located in
Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.[citation needed]

In the late industrial age, the term overpollution was common, representing a
view that was both critical of industrial pollution, but likewise accepted a
certain degree of pollution as nominal industrial practice.[citation needed]

Contents [hide]

1 Ancient cultures

2 Official acknowledgement

3 Modern awareness

4 Forms of pollution

5 Pollutants

6 Sources and causes

7 Effects

7.1 Human health

7.2 Environment

7.3 Environmental health information

8 Regulation and monitoring

9 Pollution control

9.1 Practices

9.2 Pollution control devices

10 Perspectives

11 Greenhouse gases and global warming

12 See also
13 References

14 External links

[edit]Ancient cultures

Air pollution has always been with us. Soot found on ceilings of prehistoric
caves provides evidence of the high levels of pollution associated with
inadequate ventilation of open fires.[2] The forging of metals appears to be a
key turning point in the creation of significant air pollution levels outside the
home. Core samples of glaciers in Greenland indicate increases in pollution
associated with Greek, Roman and Chinese metal production.[3]

[edit]Official acknowledgement

The earliest known writings concerned with pollution were written between
the 9th and 13th centuries by Persian scientists such as Muhammad ibn
Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes), Ibn Sina (Avicenna), and al-Masihi or were Arabic
medical treatises written by physicians such as al-Kindi (Alkindus), Qusta ibn
Luqa (Costa ben Luca), Ibn Al-Jazzar, al-Tamimi, Ali ibn Ridwan, Ibn Jumay,
Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, Abd-el-latif, Ibn al-Quff, and Ibn al-Nafis. Their
works covered a number of subjects related to pollution such as air
contamination, water contamination, soil contamination, solid waste
mishandling, and environmental assessments of certain localities.[4]

King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in

London in 1272, after its smoke had become a problem.[5][6] But the fuel
was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired
because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow. Air
pollution would continue to be a problem in England, especially later during
the industrial revolution, and extending into the recent past with the Great
Smog of 1952. This same city also recorded one of the earlier extreme cases
of water quality problems with the Great Stink on the Thames of 1858, which
led to construction of the London sewerage system soon afterward.

It was the industrial revolution that gave birth to environmental pollution as

we know it today. The emergence of great factories and consumption of
immense quantities of coal and other fossil fuels gave rise to unprecedented
air pollution and the large volume of industrial chemical discharges added to
the growing load of untreated human waste. Chicago and Cincinnati were the
first two American cities to enact laws ensuring cleaner air in 1881. Other
cities followed around the country until early in the 20th century, when the
short lived Office of Air Pollution was created under the Department of the
Interior. Extreme smog events were experienced by the cities of Los Angeles
and Donora, Pennsylvania in the late 1940s, serving as another public
reminder.[7]
[edit]Modern awareness

Pollution became a popular issue after World War II, due to radioactive fallout
from atomic warfare and testing. Then a non-nuclear event, The Great Smog
of 1952 in London, killed at least 4000 people.[8] This prompted some of the
first major modern environmental legislation, The Clean Air Act of 1956.

Pollution began to draw major public attention in the United States between
the mid-1950s and early 1970s, when Congress passed the Noise Control Act,
the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy
Act.

Bad bouts of local pollution helped increase consciousness. PCB dumping in

the Hudson River resulted in a ban by the EPA on consumption of its fish in
1974. Long-term dioxin contamination at Love Canal starting in 1947 became
a national news story in 1978 and led to the Superfund legislation of 1980.
Legal proceedings in the 1990s helped bring to light Chromium-6 releases in
California--the champions of whose victims became famous. The pollution of
industrial land gave rise to the name brownfield, a term now common in city
planning. DDT was banned in most of the developed world after the
publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

The development of nuclear science introduced radioactive contamination,

which can remain lethally radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.
Lake Karachay, named by the Worldwatch Institute as the "most polluted
spot" on earth, served as a disposal site for the Soviet Union thoroughout the
1950s and 1960s. Second place may go to the area of Chelyabinsk U.S.S.R.
(see reference below) as the "Most polluted place on the planet".[citation
needed]

Nuclear weapons continued to be tested in the Cold War, sometimes near

inhabited areas, especially in the earlier stages of their development. The toll
on the worst-affected populations and the growth since then in understanding
about the critical threat to human health posed by radioactivity has also been
a prohibitive complication associated with nuclear power. Though extreme
care is practiced in that industry, the potential for disaster suggested by
incidents such as those at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl pose a lingering
specter of public mistrust. One legacy of nuclear testing before most forms
were banned has been significantly raised levels of background radiation.
[citation needed]

International catastrophes such as the wreck of the Amoco Cadiz oil tanker
off the coast of Brittany in 1978 and the Bhopal disaster in 1984 have
demonstrated the universality of such events and the scale on which efforts
to address them needed to engage. The borderless nature of atmosphere and
oceans inevitably resulted in the implication of pollution on a planetary level
with the issue of global warming. Most recently the term persistent organic
pollutant (POP) has come to describe a group of chemicals such as PBDEs and
PFCs among others. Though their effects remain somewhat less well
understood owing to a lack of experimental data, they have been detected in
various ecological habitats far removed from industrial activity such as the
Arctic, demonstrating diffusion and bioaccumulation after only a relatively
brief period of widespread use.

Growing evidence of local and global pollution and an increasingly informed

public over time have given rise to environmentalism and the environmental
movement, which generally seek to limit human impact on the environment.

[edit]Forms of pollution

The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular
pollutants relevant to each of them:

Air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere.
Common gaseous air pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and
motor vehicles. Photochemical ozone and smog are created as nitrogen
oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight. Particulate matter, or fine dust is
characterized by their micrometre size PM10 to PM2.5.

Light pollution, includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical

interference.

Littering

Noise pollution, which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial

noise as well as high-intensity sonar.

Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or

underground leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are
hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE,[9] herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated
hydrocarbons.

Radioactive contamination, resulting from 20th century activities in atomic

physics, such as nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons research,
manufacture and deployment. (See alpha emitters and actinides in the
environment.)

Thermal pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by

human influence, such as use of water as coolant in a power plant.

Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines,
motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining), open storage
of trash or municipal solid waste.

Water pollution, by the release of waste products and contaminants into

surface runoff into river drainage systems, leaching into groundwater, liquid
spills, wastewater discharges, eutrophication and littering.

[edit]Pollutants

Main article: Pollutant

A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil. Three factors
determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, the concentration
and the persistence.

[edit]Sources and causes

Air pollution comes from both natural and man made sources. Though
globally man made pollutants from combustion, construction, mining,
agriculture and warfare are increasingly significant in the air pollution
equation.[10]

Motor vehicle emissions are one of the leading causes of air pollution.[11][12]
[13] China, United States, Russia, Mexico, and Japan are the world leaders in
air pollution emissions. Principal stationary pollution sources include chemical
plants, coal-fired power plants, oil refineries,[14] petrochemical plants,
nuclear waste disposal activity, incinerators, large livestock farms (dairy
cows, pigs, poultry, etc.), PVC factories, metals production factories, plastics
factories, and other heavy industry. Agricultural air pollution comes from
contemporary practices which include clear felling and burning of natural
vegetation as well as spraying of pesticides and herbicides[15]

About 400 million metric tons of hazardous wastes are generated each year.
[16] The United States alone produces about 250 million metric tons.[17]
Americans constitute less than 5% of the world's population, but produce
roughly 25% of the world’s CO2,[18] and generate approximately 30% of
world’s waste.[19][20] In 2007, China has overtaken the United States as the
world's biggest producer of CO2.[21]

In February 2007, a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC), representing the work of 2,500 scientists from more than 130
countries, said that humans have been the primary cause of global warming
since 1950. Humans have ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and avoid
the consequences of global warming, a major climate report concluded. But
in order to change the climate, the transition from fossil fuels like coal and oil
needs to occur within decades, according to the final report this year from
the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[22]

Some of the more common soil contaminants are chlorinated hydrocarbons

(CFH), heavy metals (such as chromium, cadmium--found in rechargeable
batteries, and lead--found in lead paint, aviation fuel and still in some
countries, gasoline), MTBE, zinc, arsenic and benzene. In 2001 a series of
press reports culminating in a book called Fateful Harvest unveiled a
widespread practice of recycling industrial byproducts into fertilizer, resulting
in the contamination of the soil with various metals. Ordinary municipal
landfills are the source of many chemical substances entering the soil
environment (and often groundwater), emanating from the wide variety of
refuse accepted, especially substances illegally discarded there, or from pre-
1970 landfills that may have been subject to little control in the U.S. or EU.
There have also been some unusual releases of polychlorinated
dibenzodioxins, commonly called dioxins for simplicity, such as TCDD.[23]

Pollution can also be the consequence of a natural disaster. For example,

hurricanes often involve water contamination from sewage, and
petrochemical spills from ruptured boats or automobiles. Larger scale and
environmental damage is not uncommon when coastal oil rigs or refineries
are involved. Some sources of pollution, such as nuclear power plants or oil
tankers, can produce widespread and potentially hazardous releases when
accidents occur.

In the case of noise pollution the dominant source class is the motor vehicle,
producing about ninety percent of all unwanted noise worldwide.

[edit]Effects

[edit]Human health

Overview of main health effects on humans from some common types of

pollution.[24][25][26]

Adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans. Ozone
pollution can cause respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat
inflammation, chest pain, and congestion. Water pollution causes
approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of
drinking water by untreated sewage in developing countries. An estimated
700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian
children die of diarrhoeal sickness every day.[27] Nearly 500 million Chinese
lack access to safe drinking water.[28] 656,000 people die prematurely each
year in China because of air pollution. In India, air pollution is believed to
cause 527,700 fatalities a year.[29] Studies have estimated that the number
of people killed annually in the US could be over 50,000.[30]

Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing
loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance. Mercury has been
linked to developmental deficits in children and neurologic symptoms. Older
people are majorly exposed to diseases induced by air pollution. Those with
heart or lung disorders are under additional risk. Children and infants are also
at serious risk. Lead and other heavy metals have been shown to cause
neurological problems. Chemical and radioactive substances can cause
cancer and as well as birth defects.

[edit]Environment

Pollution has been found to be present widely in the environment. There are
a number of effects of this:

Biomagnification describes situations where toxins (such as heavy metals)

may pass through trophic levels, becoming exponentially more concentrated
in the process.

Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in

the pH of the Earth's oceans as CO2 becomes dissolved.

The emission of greenhouse gases leads to global warming which affects

ecosystems in many ways.

Invasive species can out compete native species and reduce biodiversity.
Invasive plants can contribute debris and biomolecules (allelopathy) that can
alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment, often reducing native
species competitiveness.

Nitrogen oxides are removed from the air by rain and fertilise land which can
change the species composition of ecosystems.

Smog and haze can reduce the amount of sunlight received by plants to carry
out photosynthesis and leads to the production of tropospheric ozone which
damages plants.

Soil can become infertile and unsuitable for plants. This will affect other
organisms in the food web.
Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause acid rain which lowers the pH
value of soil.

[edit]Environmental health information

The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP)[31] at

the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) maintains a
comprehensive toxicology and environmental health web site that includes
access to resources produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies
and organizations. This web site includes links to databases, bibliographies,
tutorials, and other scientific and consumer-oriented resources. TEHIP also is
responsible for the Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET®)[32] an integrated
system of toxicology and environmental health databases that are available
free of charge on the web.

[edit]Regulation and monitoring

Main article: Regulation and monitoring of pollution

To protect the environment from the adverse effects of pollution, many

nations worldwide have enacted legislation to regulate various types of
pollution as well as to mitigate the adverse effects of pollution.

[edit]Pollution control

Pollution control is a term used in environmental management. It means the

control of emissions and effluents into air, water or soil. Without pollution
control, the waste products from consumption, heating, agriculture, mining,
manufacturing, transportation and other human activities, whether they
accumulate or disperse, will degrade the environment. In the hierarchy of
controls, pollution prevention and waste minimization are more desirable
than pollution control.

[edit]Practices

recycling

[edit]Pollution control devices

Dust collection systems

Baghouses

Cyclones
Electrostatic precipitators

Scrubbers

Baffle spray scrubber

Cyclonic spray scrubber

Ejector venturi scrubber

Mechanically aided scrubber

Spray tower

Wet scrubber

Sewage treatment

Activated sludge biotreaters

API oil-water separators[14][33]

Biofilters

Dissolved air flotation (DAF)

Powdered activated carbon treatment

Sedimentation (water treatment)

Vapor recovery systems

[edit]Perspectives

The earliest precursor of pollution generated by life forms would have been a
natural function of their existence. The attendant consequences on viability
and population levels fell within the sphere of natural selection. These would
have included the demise of a population locally or ultimately, species
extinction. Processes that were untenable would have resulted in a new
balance brought about by changes and adaptations. At the extremes, for any
form of life, consideration of pollution is superseded by that of survival.

For humankind, the factor of technology is a distinguishing and critical

consideration, both as an enabler and an additional source of byproducts.
Short of survival, human concerns include the range from quality of life to
health hazards. Since science holds experimental demonstration to be
definitive, modern treatment of toxicity or environmental harm involves
defining a level at which an effect is observable. Common examples of fields
where practical measurement is crucial include automobile emissions control,
industrial exposure (e.g. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) PELs), toxicology (e.g. LD50), and medicine (e.g. medication and
radiation doses).

"The solution to pollution is dilution", is a dictum which summarizes a

traditional approach to pollution management whereby sufficiently diluted
pollution is not harmful.[34][35] It is well-suited to some other modern,
locally scoped applications such as laboratory safety procedure and
hazardous material release emergency management. But it assumes that the
dilutant is in virtually unlimited supply for the application or that resulting
dilutions are acceptable in all cases.

Such simple treatment for environmental pollution on a wider scale might

have had greater merit in earlier centuries when physical survival was often
the highest imperative, human population and densities were lower,
technologies were simpler and their byproducts more benign. But these are
often no longer the case. Furthermore, advances have enabled measurement
of concentrations not possible before. The use of statistical methods in
evaluating outcomes has given currency to the principle of probable harm in
cases where assessment is warranted but resorting to deterministic models is
impractical or unfeasible. In addition, consideration of the environment
beyond direct impact on human beings has gained prominence.

Yet in the absence of a superseding principle, this older approach

predominates practices throughout the world. It is the basis by which to
gauge concentrations of effluent for legal release, exceeding which penalties
are assessed or restrictions applied. The regressive cases are those where a
controlled level of release is too high or, if enforceable, is neglected.
Migration from pollution dilution to elimination in many cases is confronted
by challenging economical and technological barriers.

[edit]Greenhouse gases and global warming

Main article: Global warming

Historical and projected CO2 emissions by country.

Source: Energy Information Administration.[36][37]

Carbon dioxide, while vital for photosynthesis, is sometimes referred to as

pollution, because raised levels of the gas in the atmosphere are affecting
the Earth's climate. Disruption of the environment can also highlight the
connection between areas of pollution that would normally be classified
separately, such as those of water and air. Recent studies have investigated
the potential for long-term rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to
cause slight but critical increases in the acidity of ocean waters, and the
possible effects of this on marine ecosystems.

[edit]See also

Environmental health

Hazardous Substances Data Bank

Environment portal

Book:Pollution

Books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Air pollution

Air dispersion modeling

Arden Pope

Atmospheric Chemistry Observational Databases - links to freely available

data.

Climate change

Emission standard

Greenhouse gas

Soil contamination

Environmental soil science

List of solid waste treatment technologies

List of waste management companies

List of waste management topics

Water pollution

Cruise ship pollution

Marine debris

Marine pollution

Ship pollution

Stormwater

Wastewater

Wastewater quality indicators

Other

Contamination control

Earth Day

Externality

Genetic pollution

Global warming

Heat pollution

List of environmental issues

Noise health effects

[edit]References

^ Pollution - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

^ Spengler, John D. and Sexton, Ken (1983) "Indoor Air Pollution: A Public
Health Perspective" Science (New Series) 221(4605 ): pp. 9-17, page 9

^ Hong, Sungmin et al. (1996) "History of Ancient Copper Smelting Pollution

During Roman and Medieval Times Recorded in Greenland Ice" Science (New
Series) 272(5259): pp. 246-249, page 248

^ L. Gari (2002), "Arabic Treatises on Environmental Pollution up to the End

of the Thirteenth Century", Environment and History 8 (4), pp. 475-488.

^ David Urbinato (Summer 1994). "London's Historic "Pea-Soupers"". United

States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2006-08-02.

^ "Deadly Smog". PBS. 2003-01-17. Retrieved 2006-08-02.

^ James R. Fleming; Bethany R. Knorr of Colby College. "History of the Clean
Air Act". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2006-02-14.

^ 1952: London fog clears after days of chaos (BBC News)

^ Concerns about MTBE from U.S. EPA website

^ Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment,

1972

^ Environmental Performance Report 2001 (Transport, Canada website page)

^ State of the Environment, Issue: Air Quality (Australian Government

website page)

^ Pollution and Society Marisa Buchanan and Carl Horwitz, University of

Michigan

^ a b Beychok, Milton R. (1967). Aqueous Wastes from Petroleum and

Petrochemical Plants (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons. LCCN 67019834.

^ Silent Spring, R Carlson, 1962

^ "Pollution". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009.

^ "Chapter 23 – Solid, Toxic, and Hazardous Waste"

^ "Revolutionary CO2 maps zoom in on greenhouse gas sources". Purdue

University. April 7, 2008.

^ Waste Watcher

^ Alarm sounds on US population boom. August 31, 2006. The Boston Globe.

^ "China overtakes US as world's biggest CO2 emitter". Guardian.co.uk. June

19, 2007.

^ Global Warming Can Be Stopped, World Climate Experts Say

^ Beychok, Milton R. (January 1987). "A data base for dioxin and furan
emissions from refuse incinerators". Atmospheric Environment 21 (1): 29–36.
doi:10.1016/0004-6981(87)90267-8.

^ World Resources Institute: August 2008 Monthly Update: Air Pollution's

Causes, Consequences and Solutions Submitted by Matt Kallman on Wed,
2008-08-20 18:22. Retrieved on April 17, 2009

^ waterhealthconnection.org Overview of Waterborne Disease Trends] By

Patricia L. Meinhardt, MD, MPH, MA, Author. Retrieved on April 16, 2009
^ Pennsylvania State University > Potential Health Effects of Pesticides. by
Eric S. Lorenz. 2007.

^ "A special report on India: Creaking, groaning: Infrastructure is India’s

biggest handicap". The Economist. 11 December 2008.

^ "As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes". The New York Times.
August 26, 2007.

^ Chinese Air Pollution Deadliest in World, Report Says. National Geographic

News. July 9, 2007.

^ Air Pollution - Effects

^ SIS.nlm.nih.gov

^ Toxnet.nlm.nih.gov

^ American Petroleum Institute (API) (February 1990). Management of Water

Discharges: Design and Operations of Oil-Water Separators (1st ed.).
American Petroleum Institute.

^ Gershon Cohen Ph.D.. "The 'Solution' to Pollution Is Still 'Dilution'". Earth

Island Institute. Retrieved 2006-02-14.

^ "What is required". Clean Ocean Foundation. 2001. Retrieved 2006-02-14.

^ World Carbon Dioxide Emissions (Table 1, Report DOE/EIA-0573, 2004,

Energy Information Administration)

^ Carbon dioxide emissions chart (graph on Mongabay website page based

on Energy Information Administration's tabulated data)

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pollution

Look up pollution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

OEHHA proposition 65 list

OSHA limits for air contaminants

National Toxicology Program - from USA National Institutes of Health. Reports

and studies on how pollutants affect people.

TOXNET - NIH databases and reports on toxicology.

EPA.gov - manages Superfund sites and the pollutants in them (CERCLA). Map
EPA's Superfund

Toxic Release Inventory - tracks how much waste USA companies release into
the water and air. Gives permits for releasing specific quantities of these
pollutants each year. Map EPA's Toxic Release Inventory

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - Top 20 pollutants, how
they affect people, what USA industries use them and the products in which
they are found

Toxicology Tutorials from the National Library of Medicine - resources to

review human toxicology.

Pollution Information from, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

World's Worst Polluted Places 2007, according to the Blacksmith Institute

The World's Most Polluted Places at Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)

Chelyabinsk: The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet Documentary Film

by Slawomir Grünberg (1996)

Kids' Lower IQ Scores Linked To Prenatal Pollution by Lindsey Tanner, The

Huffington Post, July 20, 2009

Nieman Reports | Tracking Toxics When the Data Are Polluted

[hide]

v•d•e

Pollution

Air pollution

Acid rain · Air Quality Index · Atmospheric dispersion modeling ·

Chlorofluorocarbon · Global dimming · Global distillation · Global warming ·
Indoor air quality · Ozone depletion · Particulate · Smog

Water pollution

Eutrophication · Hypoxia · Environmental monitoring · Freshwater

environmental quality parameters · Marine pollution · Marine debris · Ocean
acidification · Oil spill · Pharmaceuticals and personal care products · Ship
pollution · Surface runoff · Thermal pollution · Urban runoff · Wastewater ·
Waterborne diseases · Water quality · Water stagnation

Soil contamination
Bioremediation · Electrical resistance heating · Herbicide · Pesticide · Soil
Guideline Values (SGVs)

Radioactive contamination

Actinides in the environment · Environmental radioactivity · Fission product ·

Nuclear fallout · Plutonium in the environment · Radiation poisoning · Radium
in the environment · Uranium in the environment

Other types of pollution

Invasive species · Light pollution · Noise pollution · Radio spectrum pollution ·

Visual pollution

Inter-government treaties

Montreal Protocol · Kyoto Protocol · CLRTAP · OSPAR · Stockholm Convention

Major organizations

DEFRA · Environment Agency (England and Wales) · Scottish Environment

Protection Agency (Scotland) · U.S. EPA · EEA · Greenpeace

Categories: Pollution

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